Does It Hurt HD Carlton

Publish Date: August 12, 2021
Number of Pages: 607 Pages
Publisher: Independently Published
Genre(s): Suspense/Thriller, Dark Romance, Mystery, Horror

Total Star Rating: 4 Stars

Because then I wouldn’t be true to myself, little mouse. I love that I scare you. I love that you try to run from me. The push and pull. The cat and mouse game. I fucking love it. And I think a part of you does, too.”
– HD Carlton, “Haunting Adeline”

What It’s About:

The official synopsis:

The Manipulator

I can manipulate the emotions of anyone who lets me.
I will make you hurt, make you cry, make you laugh and sigh.
But my words don’t affect him. Especially not when I plead for him to leave.
He’s always there, watching and waiting.
And I can never look away.
Not when I want him to come closer.

The Shadow

I didn’t mean to fall in love.
But now that I have, I can’t stay away.
I’m mesmerized by her smile, by her eyes, and the way she moves.
The way she undresses…
I’ll keep watching and waiting. Until I can make her mine.
And once she is, I’ll never let her go.
Not even when she begs me to.

While not required, it is highly suggested to read the novella, Satan’s Affair, first.

Author’s Note: This book ends on a cliffhanger. For CWs, please check the author’s website.

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I’ve always been a firm believer in how books are a way for us to explore ideas and circumstances that we wouldn’t necessarily ever experience in our real lives. Its a safe way for people to explore these ideas or even fantasies that we may have in a fictional and more controlled way that allows us to see how far we can go with things, but then also push away when we know we’ve reached our limit, and it can be as simple as shutting the book and putting it aside. People have all sorts of content that they find triggering because of past experiences, but not everyone wants to face those past experiences again or be reminded of them.

This one definitely explores a darker idea of having a stalker, but what if someone liked the attention? What if you liked being chased? The danger? It’s a work of fiction that explores these ideas that some people are definitely curious to look further into…

I’m not someone who comes with a lot of needs for trigger warnings personally, but I’ve found it interesting how different and how torn people are with them in the book community, specifically the dark romance community, which has really skyrocketed in popularity recent years. That brings me to this book, Haunting Adeline, which feels almost like the foundation of the sub-genre! If you’re familiar with dark romance or have even skimmed the surface of it, there’s no way you haven’t at least heard of the Cat & Mouse duet by HD Carlton. From my perspective, these books have put dark romance on the map whether you like it or not. But that also means I don’t believe these are truly the “gateway” to the sub-genre either…you definitely should work your way up to these because WOW these get graphic in more ways than one!

Not sure if this is relevant or not, but this is also not my first HD Carlton novel either; I did previously read Does It Hurt, which was a more recent standalone by her, and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it, so of course it lead me to checking out this duet, which is by far the author’s most popular titles.

Okay now onto the review of the actual book:

The story revolves around a young woman named Adeline who moves into an older, Victorian mansion that was her great-grandmother’s. Adeline is a budding author and its soon discovered about her grandmother’s mysterious murder that happened within the house.

The story is told in a duo-perspective as we also meet Zade Meadows, a definite anti-hero vigilante-type character who’s dark himself, but also comes out after dark to rid the world of other dark beings, like serial killers, rapists, human traffickers, etc. One night he goes into a bookstore, and he discovers Adeline at a book signing of hers, and becomes absolutely obsessed.

It doesn’t stop there.

Soon Addie is starting to feel a presence that is more than just possibly restless spirits in that old mansion as single roses mysteriously are left about, creaks and moans are heard in the dark of the night, and shadows dance at the end of her vision… soon it becomes clear she’s not always alone in that house at some point…

Normally they say an adult book is 18+ and I’d even normally be on the side of arguing “read what you want to read” with no censorship…..but this one was really something, I’m not going to lie. It gets pretty graphic. It’s truly not for every reader, and please look into the trigger warnings for this book because it is a lot and deals with some dark content with human trafficking too. And Like I say in this review, Zade Meadows is ABSOLUTELY NO DISNEY PRINCE…he’s not even a Damon Salvatore…well maybe he is, but if Damon Salvatore was XXX and not from The CW network if that makes sense? Maybe not still even…

This book comes with many warnings is what I can sum it up to. And I actually completely mean that.

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What I Liked:

The Murder Mystery Of Adeline’s Great Grandmother! I love a good whodunnit murder mystery story, and bonus points if a creepy house and romance/spice are in the mix, so right off the bat with that made this book feel right up my alley for that alone.
The Overall Creepy Vibes! Creepy Victorian Mansion on top of a hill that Adeline inherits? Check. Roses being left randomly around the house? Check. Her great-grandmother was murdered in said house? Check. See’s creepy dude in a hoodie lurking outside at night? Also check! The Vibes are definitely here for this book and its a perfect choice for spooky season!
How Morally Grey/Anti-Hero Zade Meadows Is! Call him an anti-hero or call him morally grey, either way I think we can all agree: Zade Meadows is a bad dude. He is a freakin’ piece of work. It doesn’t matter that he hunts down serial killers and human traffickers and kills them to make the world a better place in that sense, some of the things he does to Adeline in this book are ABSOLUTELY questionable and even atrocious at times…I mean no one’s perfect, but holy shit Batman are there red flags galore here! Despite all that, I will say it all adds to making Zade an incredibly enigmatic and and very enticing character. When he shows up, you pay attention and you perk up a little bit because you KNOW shit is about to go down more than likely.

What I Didn’t Like:

That Gun Scene…Even as a human of the male gender variety, even I had to say OWWWWWWWWWWW when I read that scene.
It Could’ve Been Shorter…I feel like this book could’ve definitely compressed a little bit and didn’t need to be 607 pages long. Maybe some more editing would’ve taken out some scenes that the book would maybe survive without? I don’t know, but I will admit it felt long and drawn out in some parts and just that it didn’t need to be as long as it is. Maybe this opinion of mine will change for book 2?

Conclusion:

Overall, this book was a dark and twisty and also extremely HOT book read that was a total binge-able guilty pleasure…It’s one you’re either going to absolutely love or absolutely despise with hardly any in-between! I personally enjoyed it and liked that it explored so many dark avenues in a safe, fictional, bookish way. I’m the type of reader where if a book comes with a ton of warnings like this one does, it makes me MORE curious and draws me rather than scare me away!

I’ll definitely be checking out book two, but I also can’t necessarily say this is a book I’d recommend to all the readers either. Try it if you dare but yes, it’s not for the feint of heart!

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Publish Date: July 22nd, 2022
Number of Pages: 430 Pages
Publisher: Independently Published
Genre(s): Dark Romance, New Adult Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Horror

Total Star Rating: 4 Stars

There’s a place in the ocean, so deep, where not a single point of light penetrates through it. And for so long, I’ve been trapped there, unable to breathe. When I met you, you lifted me out of that darkness, and it was the first time I came up for air. You’ve become my oxygen, bella ladra, and I can no longer breathe without you.”
– H.D. Carlton, “Does It Hurt?”

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What It’s About:

The official synopsis:

Who am I?

I’ve forgotten the answer to that question long ago. Ever since I ran from that house, so desperate to escape, I left with only the clothes on my back and socks on my feet. After that day, I’ve only ever walked in stolen shoes.

Could I be a girl who is searching for the meaning of life in faceless men? They were all so forgettable. Until he came along. He took me under a waterfall and made me forget my name, and in return, I took his instead.

Enzo Vitale.

An enigmatic man that will only ever love the deep sea. Or rather the predators that inhabit it. Turns out, he’s not so different than the monsters he feeds. He lured me onto his boat like a fish in the ocean, seeking vengeance for my crime. Had I realized his intentions, and that a massive storm would leave us shipwrecked, I would’ve run.

Now, I’m a girl who’s seeking refuge in a decrepit lighthouse with a man who loathes me almost as much as he craves me. He wants to hurt me, but the old caretaker of the abandoned island may have intentions far more sinister.

It’s no longer a question of who I am, but rather, will I survive?

~~~

Okay readers, this is my first H.D. Carlton book before I hit up the Cat and Mouse duet which seems to be her most popular work, so I’m glad to say I wasn’t disappointed at all! In fact, this book is one I’d say is a great bridge into the darker themed romances this author and plenty of others are known for. It definitely had the darker themes, but I’d say it wasn’t too overwhelming for a reader who wasn’t sure and merely wanted to dip their toes into before taking the plunge.

This story is about a young woman named Sawyer Bennett who’s on the run from her dark past. She’s become a chameleon and has resorted to stealing people’s identities in order to move around and stay hidden; the first chapter is her making an impulse decision to board a different plane at the last possible moment out of pure paranoia of word of her being seen getting back to whomever is stalking her or looking for her…

She winds up in Australia and at a bar where she runs into Enzo Vitale, an enigmatic marine biologist who specializes in sharks, and things VERY quickly get hot and heavy between them…until the next morning Sawyer steals his information and gets a new credit card in his name! Dun Duh DUN!!!

Enzo’s a smart guy, and he quickly figures it out, but a confrontation leads to them being stuck out at sea during a storm and then shipwrecked on a small island with a lighthouse and it’s old caretaker…. and I’ll stop there before I reveal any more of the story because I don’t want to spoil too much for you if you actually do wind up grabbing a copy for yourself.

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What happened to you does not define you. It only forged a new path that will take you to a different version of yourself. But no one can force you to walk that road; only you can determine who you will be once you get there. It’s your choice who you become, Sawyer.”
– H.D. Carlton, “Does It Hurt?”

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What I Like:

The Insta-Lust! While I’m not the biggest fan of insta-love, insta-LUST can freakin’ GET IT because sometimes we don’t need a slowburn, spice right away is also a great way to have a story go! The chemistry between Enzo and Sawyer was absolutely sizzling, despite all the other things going on in the story alongside their developing relationship. The spice was phenomenal, and there were some kinks explored too that I won’t talk about, but you can find out about if you do some research! I will say though, BRAVO ENZO!!
The Darker Themes! This was definitely a mystery/suspense/thriller type of story with even a few horror-like elements thrown in too in a few spots, and it made the perfect setting for some of the darker themes explored in this story. Without going too into detail, both main characters have traumatic pasts that come up, and the experience they have being stuck on an island with a strange man is also traumatic, this book is definitely not for the readers who prefer the rom-com, lighter toned stories. It’s as dark and gut wrenching as the ocean during a hurricane, but I’d still say this may be an easier dark romance to get into for someone who’s curious to try it out for the first time.
Sawyer Bennett! She gets MVP for this book for sure. She’s got to be the most adorable identity thief I’ve ever run across. Even though she does a terrible thing to people in order to survive, she’s still incredibly likeable as a character and is extremely hard to not absolutely fall for!

What I Didn’t Like:

The Slow Midpoint…Okay, so after about the first 25% of the book, it feels like the plot really slows down. This is when Enzo and Sawyer are stuck on the island and just get their bearings. It’s where their relationship takes centerstage and gets the most attention, and yes there’s spicy scenes. But everything else kind of drags…the mystery of the island, the intentions of the old man named Sylvester, the sounds they hear at night, everything else gets the slowburn treatment…If not for the spice and the assholeness we see of Enzo, I’d probably have been really bored with this book in all honesty.

Conclusion:

Overall, I enjoyed this book as my first trek into H.D Carlton’s bookland. I’ve taken notice of how loyal her fanbase seems to be; I mean, people are willing to spend $1000+ on limited printing special editions of her books, that definitely made me curious to see what she’s all about!

I’d say this is an excellent candidate for anyone who’s curious to try out dark romance for the first time but are worried about being overwhelmed with the triggering content. Don’t get me wrong, there’s definitely some content in this book that some will definitely not like or be able to handle, so one last time, if you think you’re a reader who is like this….do your research on trigger warnings before opening this book.